Incumbent Democratic-Republican James Monroe and Vice President…
December 1820 CE
Incumbent Democratic-Republican James Monroe and Vice President Daniel D. Tompkins win the United States presidential election, facing no opposition from other Democratic-Republicans in their quest for a second term.
Taking place at the height of the Era of Good Feelings, the election is the third and last United States presidential election in which a presidential candidate ran effectively unopposed.
The Federalist Party had fielded a presidential candidate in each election since 1796, but the party's already-waning popularity had declined further following the War of 1812.
Although able to field a nominee for vice president, the Federalists could not put forward a presidential candidate, leaving Monroe without organized opposition.
Monroe wins every state and receives all but one of the electoral votes.
Secretary of State John Quincy Adams receives the only other electoral vote, which comes from faithless elector William Plumer.
Four different Federalists receive electoral votes for vice president, but Tompkins wins re-election by a large margin.
No other post-Twelfth Amendment presidential candidate will match Monroe's share of the electoral vote, and Monroe and George Washington remain the only presidential candidates to run without any major opposition.
Monroe's victory is the last of six straight victories by Virginians in presidential elections.